Friday 9 September 2016

A trip to Israel and looking to the future

Hello,

I hope you all had the opportunity to take some annual leave over the summer and like me were able to recharge your batteries a little... and, weren’t we lucky with such glorious weather?

I made the most of the sunshine spending time with my gorgeous grandchildren on the beach and a short break in Crete, followed by one of the most interesting and fascinating trips that I have taken in a long time. As I mentioned in my last blog I had the great pleasure of travelling to Israel and the West Bank, as part of a Parliamentary delegation. 

Israel is one of those countries that you have so many expectations about and the delegation had a packed schedule which enabled us to see this fascinating place. What you see in the media doesn’t actually reflect the reality and having the opportunity to spend five days meeting the Israeli and Palestinian people, you start to build a picture of the complexities. I saw a country that is diverse and multicultural, a world leader in technology and medicine, with a strong and developed democracy. Everyone that I met was vibrant and enthusiastic about the future. 

The visit included seeing the new Palestinian-planned city of Rawabi, and meeting the man behind it, which was especially illuminating. Rawabi plans to be an entertainment, commercial and business hub and a home for 35,000 Palestinians and 300 families have already relocated.  

In every way, the trip was informative and insightful, and came home having learnt so much and better equipped to take part when we debate this complex issue in the House of Lords. 

Now it’s back to work in Wiltshire, and as the summer months draw to a close it’s time to shift our focus to the second part of the year. Inevitably this is the time when we start in earnest to focus on setting the budget for next year and how we will manage the challenges ahead. It seems like only yesterday that we agreed this year’s budget – but I think that demonstrates that whilst time does seem to go quicker these days – budget planning is an all-year-round task that requires close monitoring, review and planning ahead. 

I don’t want to sound like I’m repeating the same messages every year but it is getting tougher and the challenge to maintain key front line services needs a lot of creative thinking and everyone’s input to make sure that we can deliver what people in Wiltshire need.

Working with the corporate leadership team we discuss the pressures that impact on the budget – this allows us to try and mitigate potential problems early. Whilst we have had to tighten our belts over the past few years, our good financial planning and management has stood us in good stead. 

Some local authorities get accused of shying away from explaining their financial decisions, but we feel it’s important to speak to our residents face to face and share what we face and our plans. Again this year we will be inviting members of the public to attend meetings in Trowbridge, Chippenham, Devizes and Salisbury to openly discuss the challenges ahead. Whilst people sometimes don’t agree with the decisions we make, I think they appreciate the opportunity to talk with us and understand the context in which we have to make those decisions. We view these meetings as a vital part of planning next year’s budget and we’re looking forward to hearing what they have to say. 

And it’s also important that we talk to all of you at the annual staff forums, which are scheduled to take place in the autumn. Just like the public meetings, the forums are an opportunity to discuss the direction of the council and our future plans.

It is unlikely to surprise you that we face the combination of increased demand for our services while having less money to spend. Our constant priority is to protect those vital front line services so it means we have to take a good look at everything we do and ensure we are being as efficient as possible. Despite the challenges, we have achieved so much over the years – it’s certainly not all doom and gloom – and we’ll be reflecting on some of these successes at the forthcoming meetings.

In my view we work best when we are challenged to think differently. As we have proven time and again, we are very adept at finding solutions and working with our local communities to encourage them to do more. I’m confident that this will be the case as we head into this important planning for the future.

Jane